Netflix lands historic first Emmy nominations for online-only series House of Cards

House of Cards is the first online-obly show ever to get Emmy nominations (Picture: AP)

Netflix has made history by becoming the first on-demand service to receive Emmy award nominations, with its original series House of Cards getting nine nods.

The political drama, which stars Kevin Spacey as a congressman trying to manipulate his way into power, has been honoured in the coveted best drama category ahead of many of the main broadcast networks.

Its stars Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright have both earned nominations for their acting meanwhile, with David Fincher getting a nod for best director in a drama series.

Netflix’s nine nominations for House of Cards were capped off with another three for Arrested Development, which the company revived for a fourth series earlier this year.

Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul and this year’s host Neil Patrick Harris announced the nominations in Los Angeles this morning, with American Horror Story: Asylum leading with 17 nominations, closely followed by Game of Thrones with 16.

The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards air on 22 September. A full list of nominations can be found here.